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Kiribati joins the International Whaling Commission

Monday, 17 January, 2005

Sydney Australia

The Pacific Island Country of Kiribati has joined the International Whaling
Commission (IWC).&nbsp; This move by Kiribati comes at a very significant time for the future of
whales. The IWC is in the middle of negotiating a deal that could lead to the
resumption of commercial whaling this year. The number of countries for and
against is finely balanced-one new country joining on either side could mean the
difference between no whaling and a full-blown commercial whale hunt.&nbsp;

“Sadly, there is the real threat that, for the first time in the IWC’s recent
history, the number of pro-whaling countries will outnumber those opposed to
whaling. Given the delicacy of the current position, Kiribati’s vote could tip
the scales either way. We implore Kiribati to vote for whale conservation, not
whale exploitation,” said IFAW Asia Pacific Marine Campaigner, Darren
Kindleysides.

Kiribati is the second Pacific Island Country to have joined the IWC in the
last year. Their neighbour, Tuvalu, joined in June 2004, just in time to attend
the last annual meeting of the IWC held in Italy last July. At that meeting,
Tuvalu voted with the pro-whaling nations and against the conservation of the
world’s whales (see voting record below). Tuvalu became the first South Pacific
country to vote against setting up a South Pacific Whale Sanctuary.

The Government of Kiribati has made commitments to whale conservation through
various Pacific regional agreements including supporting the establishment of a
South Pacific Whale Sanctuary, recognising the Pacific is one of the world’s
most critical areas for whale conservation. Many throughout the region will be
watching Kiribati’s voting at the next IWC meeting in Korea in June 2005
carefully. It is hoped that Kiribati will continue its support for the
protection of the region’s whales and to respect the will of the majority of
Pacific Island Countries.